Wind-engine



(No Model.)

-iii 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

W. G. BRAMWELL.

WIND ENGINE.

Patented July 30,1895.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2'.

(No Model.)

W. G. BRAMWELL.

WIND ENGINE.v No. 543,462. Y i Patented July 30, 1895..

UNrTnD STATES PATENT i @nuten WILLIAM C. BRAMVELL, OF HYDE PARK, MASSACHUSETTS.

WIND-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 543,462, dated July 30, 1895.

Application tiled July 13, 1894.

To @ZZ whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. BRAMwnLL, of Hyde Park, county of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvementin Wind-Engines,of which the following description, in connection with the vaccompanying drawings, is aspecification, like letters and numerals on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to that class of engines or motorswherein the power of the wind acting upon a wind-wheel is transmitted to the machine or mechanism desired `to bev driven. In such apparatus the transmitting mechanism usually comprisesa series of bevel gears and shafts for increasing the speed and for changing the direction of rotation from horizontal to vertical, and thereafter back to horizontal, various mechanisms having been devised for accomplishing such purpose. A large part of the power of the wind-wheel is thus dissipated, and its efficiency is so lowv ered that it has small value as a producer of any amount of power. When it is attempted to drive a machine at high speed-as, for instance, an electrical generator-the loss is still greater on account of the intermediate mechanism necessary to transmit and transform the slow speed of the wind-wheel shaft tothe high speed necessary for the armatureshaft of the generator.

This invention has for its object the p roduction of a wind-engine wherein the transmitting mechanism is greatly simplified and section, and broken out to save space, a windengine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of a portion of the wind-wheel only. Fig. 3 is a detail view on the irregular lline :c Fig. 1,,looking down and on a larger Serial No. 517,391. (No model.)

scale, of the vane or rudder-adjusting mechanism. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail to be described, taken on the line or Fig. l, of the commutator of theelectric generator and the wires leading therefrom into the standard. Fig. 5 is a detail of the outer end of one of the wind-blades, showing the mode of attachnient to the rim. Figs. 6 and 6a are front and sectional views, enlarged, of the universal joint, to be described, on the generator-shaft; and Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a modification, to be referred to, of the connection between the rim of the wind-wheeland the rotatable member of the machine to be driven thereby.

I have shown in Fig. l the apparatus embodying my invention as mounted upon a standard A, preferably hollow, and of metal or other suitable material, its lower end being secured, as herein shown, by a threaded portion ct to a casting A', resting upon a series of friction-rolls d', carried in a step or thrust bearing A2, adapted to be secured by bolts or otherwise to suitable supports in the usual tower or other building. Between the ends of the standard A, I have provided a sleeve` like bearing A3, in which it is free to rotate, said bearing being preferably secured to the root', as B, of the tower or other building on which the apparatus is erected. This bearing may be of any desired or suitable shape or construction, and I have shown in Fig. l a hood or cover A4 attached to the standard A above the bearing to keep rain or snow therefrom.

A casting having a hub b, herein shown as threaded and mounted upon and thereby rigidly secured to the threaded upper end of the standard A, is provided with a boss b projecting from one side and adapted to receive therein a stud bx, upon which the wind-wheel to be described isfree to rotate, said stud being held in place by a suitable set-screw m30, Fig. 1. An upright extension 192- on the casting has formed therein a bearing b3 in align- ICO sides ot' said arms being grooved (see dotted lines, Fig. l) to receive therein the thin partition-boards o4 of the vane or rudder'.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the vane or rudder is adapted to turn .on its pintle c, and also as a whole with the standard A.

The hub b is provided with a rearwardlyprojecting yoke-like portion h2o, having bearings Z230 at its outer ends to receive the journals of a short shaft D40, having fast thereon a Worm d anda sprocketor other wheel CZ', the teeth of the worm d engaging a toothed segment c5, secured to or forming a part of the casting c2 and extending laterally therefrom, as shown in Figs. l and 3, and I have herein shown at each end of said segment extended teeth, as 2 3, to form stops and to limit the lateral movement of the segment.

By an inspection of Fig. 3 it will be obvious that rotation of the worm d in one or the other direction will turn the Vane or rudder' C through an arc ofsubstantiallyninety degrees, the worm acting as a lock to hold the vane at any point between the ends of the segment.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the vane is at right angles to the face of the wind-wheel to be described, xing the latter exactly in the wind, so that it will be rotated at its maximum speed for a given velocity of wind. It', however, the worm d is rotated to move the vane in the direction of the arrow 30 into its extreme position, the Vane or rudder will be brought substantially parallel to the face of the wind-wheel and the latter will be brought up with its edge to the wind and its rotation will be stopped, and at any point intermediate these two extremes various speeds can be obtained, depending on the angle presented by the face of the wind-Wheel to the direction of the wind.

Referring to Fig. l, I have shown idlers d2 and d3 supported on suitable shafts carried by the standard and so located that a sprocket or other chain d passing about the Wheel d and over the idlers d2 and d3 is carried into the hollow standard A and down around an actuating-wheel d4 within the standard near its base, the shaft of said actuating-wheel d* being provided with a suitable handle d5 at the exterior ot the standard, whereby the wheel may be rotated. .Rotation of the actuatingwheel d, by means of its handle d5, will, through the chain or other connection d", cause rotation of the wheel d and worm d to vary the angle of the vane or rudder with relation to the wind-wheel.

The actuator is supposed to be located at a convenient distance from the lower end of the standard A, so as to be readily accessible to the operator from the part ot' the tower or other building upon which the apparatus is mounted.

It is obvious that a cable or band may be used in place of the sprocket-chain bx by simply adapting the sprocket-wheels to such change of flexible connection.

I have herein shown the wind-wheel E as composed of a rim e and a hub e' connected thereto and suspended therefrom by a series of wind-blades e2 under tension by means to be described. The hub e is provided at each end with annular flanges c5 et, having openings therein to receive bolts connected to the inner ends of the blades, the ends of the bolts passing through the flanges, receiving thereon and being held in place by suitable nuts n n', as clearly shown in Figs. l and whereby the tension of the blades e2 may be adjusted. The blades arepreferably made of thin sheet metal, such as iron, copper, or other suitable material, and bent over at their outer ends, as best shown in Fig. 5, the main and bent-over portions being connected by suitable rivets 5, the bent-over portions being provided with slots to receive therein the downturned ends f of the arms fof theholders connected to the rim e, the endsf of the holders being provided with holes, through which is extended a pin or rod f2, as best shown in Fig. 5,rhe said rod connecting each blade to its holder. The hub-like portions f of the holders at their main or central portion fit around the rim, (herein shown as concave-convex in cross-section,) and the holders may be secured upon said rim either by being bent over the flange, as at f3, Fig. 5, or they may be bolted or riveted to the rim in any desired manner.

It will be noticed from an inspection oli' Figs. l and 2 that the inner ends of alternate blades e2 are connected, respectively, to lthe front and rear flanges e3 and e ot' the hub, such arrangement of the blades providing for lateral bracing of the wind-wheel without additional braces having that sole function, thereby decreasing the weight of the wheel.

The hub e of the wind-Wheel rotates upon the stud or spindle bx fixed in the casting on the standard A, and it is retained in place thereon by a suitable nut m3 on the outer end of thel stud, the said stud being herein shown as slightly inclined to the horizontal, so that the face of the wind-wheel is inclined atan angle of about ten degrees to receive the impact of theV wind most advantageously.

It will be understood that if the holders are retained upon the rim e by the inturned edges or flanges f3 the said holders will be placed upon the rim before its ends are connected. W

In Figs. l, 2, and 5 the rim e of the wind" mature-shaft h of the dynamo has connected thereto, by a universal joint, a pulley h hav- ICO IIO

Ving a concaved periphery to receive therein the flexible connection g, which passes around the rim e of the wind-wheel, whereby the rotation of the latter is communicated to the dynamo.

Inasmuch as the face of the wind-wheel is inclined as described, itis necessary to con-4 adapted to rock in bearings h6, (see Fig. 6,)`

suitably securedto the web of the pulley by bolts or other fastenings 10, extended through their flan ges h'. The pulley is thus adapted to roclr about the studs h3 or at right angles thereto about the shortshaft h5. t

. By tilting the dynamo so as to bring its armature-shaft at right angles to the plane of the rim of the wind-wheel a pulley rigidly secured to the armature-shaft could be used, or if the plane of the wind-wheel rim was vertical the same arrangement could be used, the dynamo then being level.

The commutator-brushes k and'lc2 have connected thereto suitably-insulated wires 70X and t-X to lead through4 porcelain or other insulating holders 50 to the interior of the standard A, thence downward to the lower part thereof, and out through other insulatingtubes and 6l to insulated ringsm and m exteriorly secured to the standard, and from which the current can be taken by suitable brushes mx mX and by connecting-wires to a secondary or storage battery or to any other electrical device desired.

From an inspection of Fig. 1, taken in connection with the foregoing description, it will be seen that changes in the direction of the wind acting against the vane or rudder C will turn it and with it the vertical standard A, and as the latter supports the various mechanisms described they will be turned with it, retaining, however, their relative positions, whatever may be the direction ofthe wind, so that the operation of the dynamo will be continuous so long as the wind-wheel is rotated, and, furthermore, the apparatus can be started, stopped, or regulated from within the tower. or other building upon which it is supported, a very great desideratum in inclement weather.

The dynamo is protected from the action of the elements by a removable cover DX.

In Fig. 7 I have shown a modification of the connecting means between the wind-wheel and the shaft to be driven, wherein the rim S of the wind-wheel has secured to or forming a part of it an annular gear s', adapted to engage the teeth of a bevel-gear s2 fastV on the shaft s3 of the armature or other device to be driven, the 'bevel of the gear s2 being such that the inclination of the wind-wheel is compensated for and the gears s s2 always maintained in engagement without necessitating a universal joint between the smaller gear and its shaft. f

It will be obvious from the construction shown in Fig. 7 that instead of toothed gears friction-gears might be substituted, operating precisely in the same manner.

While I have herein shown a dynamo as the machine to be driven by the wind-wheel, it is obvious that any other machine could be driven; and so, too, the shaft 7L could readily be extended withinthe standard A and be geared to a vertical shaft passing through the center' of the standard and below its lower end, and a pulley or other power-transmitting device could be secured tothe projecting end of the vertical shaft to transmit the rotation of said shaft to a dynamo or other machine within the building without interfering with the adjustment of the wind-wheel to changes in the direction of the wind, as described.

Inasmuch as a dynamo well illustrates a machine which must be driven at a high speed, it presents a good type of machine particularly adapted for use in connection with my apparatus, wherein the comparatively slow speed of the wind-wheel is transmitted thereto and utilized without the employment of speed-increasing gearing, and by connecting the dynamo with a storage-battery the variable and intermittent power of the wind may be transformed, stored up, and utilized at a very small cost.

IOC

That very high speed may be attained by an apparatus embodying my invention is clear, if we take into consideration the fact that the rim of a wind-wheel ten feet in diameter, for instance, will have a velocity of four hundred and seventy feet per minute at fifteen revolutions, while its shaft-say, of two inches in diameter-will only have a surface speed of about eight feet per minute.

vTo drive apparatus from the shaft the speed would have to be geared up in a ratio of about fifty-nine to one to equal the speed of the rim, necessitating considerable intermediate gearing, and in consequence greatly reducing the useful power of the wind-wheel.

I claim- 1. A hollow rotative standard, a wind-wheel mounted thereon, a platform-like support attached to and longitudinally adjustable onv -the standard below the wind-wheel, an elecl'IO IZO

tric generator on said support, an endless belt directly connecting the rim of the windwheel and the rotatable member of the generator, insulated conducting rings around the exterior of the standard, wires connecting said rings and the commutator of the generator, and current carrying brushes contacting exteriorly with the rings, substantiallyas described.

2. In a wind-wheel, a ,hub, anda series of wind blades connected thereto at their inner ends, adjacent blades being secured to oppo- 5. In a wind-Wheel, a hnb having annular ilanges at its ends, Wind blades, connections between the inner ends of the blades andthe annular flanges of the hnb, and means to adjust; said connections independently, sul stantially as described. v

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

l WILLAlll C.

Vitnesses:

GEO. W. GREGORY, .Toi-IN C. Emmaus.

IRAM. WELL. 

